Snow day
by Roburt
Summary: Cute one-shot.


"Look, it's snowing." She had her nose pressed up against the window as she stared at the flakes outside. Her breath fogged the glass and she traced a delicate finger through the moisture. "It's snowing." She turned around and glanced at me in her half-curious, half-furtive way, and returned to the window. "You said we would go out if it snowed." I put aside the book I was pretending to read and walked over to where she crouched in front of the window. I sat down beside her and leaned against the wall while she continued to stare. Her overlarge sweater covered all but the tips of her fingers, resting on the sill. Her eyes flickered towards me, and I smiled inwardly. Already she was dressed for the weather. Another moment passed, and I stood up with a stretch. "Alright. Let's go." She looked up at me in her half-curious, half-furtive way, and nodded. I could have sworn I glimpsed a smile.

The sun had peaked an hour before, and its light diffused faintly through the thick cloud cover. I had turned my collar up against the expected wind, but the air was still. The dry snow swished in the eddies around my ankles as we walked slowly down the street. The occasional car passed us, but there were no other pedestrians. I felt a slight tugging at my sleeve and looked down only to have a fistful of snow tossed in my face. It was cold and melted wetly on my skin. Before I could retaliate the small bundled figure ran ahead, arms outstretched in a parody of wings, scarf fluttering madly behind her. I laughed aloud and wondered for the umpteenth time how she wasn't cold wearing stockings.

She led the way to the nearby park, marveling at the snow. Spinning in circles she tried to catch a flake in her open mouth, before collapsing on the swings in a pyrrhic victory. She held her head in her hands for a moment before grasping the chain of the swings and looked at me expectantly. "Dizzy?" I asked, amused. I tilted my head back and attempted to catch a flake myself. One landed on my tongue and I closed my mouth. The tiny fleck of cold melted warmly away. Absentmindedly, I gave her the slight push that she needed to get her started swinging. I sat in the swing beside hers and watched as she arced slowly higher and higher, thin legs kicking at the still air.

I puffed my cheeks out and blew gently at the falling snow. The crystals spun madly in the air current, and I watched my breath rise up and vanish. Suddenly there came a jangling of chains and I turned in time to see a small figure land neatly on the snow-strewn ground. She spun on her heel to face me with a flip of the head and a smile. The way her eyes sparkled made my heart skip a beat and I felt a blush rise to my cheeks. She noticed the color in my face and began to blush herself, staring down at her toes. I patted my leg with a hand and she trotted over shyly. I buried my face her hair as she sat, and wrapped my arms around her midriff. She reached back and scratched affectionately at my head in return. We sat, enjoying one another's company until the silence was broken by a small sneeze. I knew she was cold and began to stand up. She protested for a moment, but stockinged legs slid off my lap reluctantly nonetheless.

On the way home she clung to my arm while staring down at her feet. I knew she was blushing from the colour of the tips of her ears that were poking out over her scarf.

I sat across from her, pretending to read my book again. She was curled up under a thick blanket, a mug of warm milk tea clasped between her hands. Her nose was still pink from the cold. She seemed hypnotized by the steam rising up from her drink, before I realized she was actually staring at me through the veil of moisture. She must have noticed me noticing, for she jumped up out from under the blanket, blushing furiously. "I- I'm going to go take a bath!", she declared, before marching off to the bathroom. I counted down from three under my breath and she reentered the room, set her mug down on the coffee table, and quickly left again. Amused, I settled deeper into the sofa. Trying not to think about what was happening in the other room, I returned to my book. In my mind's eye however, she had begun to disrobe; her sweater came off up over her head, and she undid the clasp that held her skirt up. She wiggled out of her t-shirt in the way all girls seem to do, with both hands grasping the hem, flipping it inside-out. As she shook her hair loose, fingers hooked themselves over the elastic of her stockings. Carefully, she peeled them off; first one leg, then the other. I saw her standing there in my mind, her pale form trembling slightly from being so recently bared. Slowly, her hands reached behind her back, and-

I shook my head to clear the images from my mind and stubbornly returned to my book.

Suddenly there was a crash from the bathroom, followed by the clattering of bottles on the floor. I jumped from my seat and dashed to the bathroom. There was no sound except for that of the shower running, and I called out through the door, "Are you okay?" Receiving no response, I tried the handle and swore. It was locked. Deciding against pounding on the door, I took a step back and tried to kick the door in, under the lock. The old wood splintered, but did not break. It took two more tries before the cracked frame finally gave way, and a cloud of hot steam gushed out. Moving quickly, I grabbed a towel from the shelf and wrapped the prone figure on the floor in it, and carried her to her bed. After making sure she was well-covered and breathing, I returned to the bathroom to turn the water off and inspect the damage. The lock was intact, but the same could not be said for the frame. I shrugged to myself. It wasn't important.

I had tidied up and only just sat down when she woke up with a start. I looked away as she sat up, but she snatched at her sheets anyway, embarrassed. "What happened?", she mumbled. "You fainted", I replied. "It was probably the heat and your cold that did it." I paused, wondering how to continue. "I know you didn't look," she said, after a pause. I turned to her. She was still clutching the sheets to her chest, but her eyes were bright and clear. "I was so worried." My voice caught in my throat as I spoke. She nodded and gestured sheepishly to the door. I understood and quickly left. Not a minute later, she burst out of her room and threw her arms around me. She wore her favorite nightgown, a silken, lacy affair that was slightly too large for her. I hugged her back and we held each other for a moment. She took a step back and looked up at me. "I... um." She had averted her eyes, and was blushing again. "Are you alright?" I was still concerned. She nodded, then shook her head as though to clear it. A small hand reached up and tugged on my collar, bringing my ear down to her mouth. "Can we sleep together tonight?" came the whisper. I patted her head gently and she buried her face in my chest. I wondered if she could hear my heart pounding.

As we slipped into bed, she blushed again. I lay on my side facing her, arm under her head as she snuggled up into my chest. She was warm. Her ankle crossed my leg under the blanket, and I relished the contact. "Good night", I whispered. "Good night", came the muffled reply. She glanced up at me just as I closed my eyes, in her half-curious, half-furtive way.

* * *

_I could tell he was asleep by the way he was breathing, slowly and regularly. I edge a little closer to him, and smile. He was so warm._


End file.
